If you have been subscribed to my blog you know that I enjoy learning. Whenever I find a resource I have to share it. My two favorite resources for online learning are Coursera.org and Edx.org. These two Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) sites are perfect if you want to learn something new now.

After a few years of using both of these MOOC sites: Coursera.org and Edx.org I have a good feel for what they have to offer. Both sites offer tons of courses in various subjects taught by professors from universities around the world. Whether you want to earn a certificate, learn a new subject area, enhance your knowledge for your career or enroll in a multiple-course specialization unit Coursera.org and Edx.org are perfect for you.

Both MOOC sites have apps available for smartphones and tablets which make learning on-the-go easy. I prefer to use my computer to take my courses and I like to use Microsoft OneNote to take notes. I like using OneNote because it helps me keep the information organized and I like that it gives me that notebook feel even though I use it on the computer.

After using both sites I can honestly say you can’t go wrong with Coursera.org or Edx.org. Both will give you a great digital learning experience to help you in your career. Whether you are an undergraduate, graduate, professional or thinking about learning something new I’m sure you will find a course that fits your needs. I suggest creating an account for both to keep track of what courses are available. There are so many courses and you don’t want to miss out. Continue reading →

Last year I talked about using Coursea.org as an Online Learning tool. I’m an advocate for learning more and taking advantage of resources, especially when they are free. After taking several Coursera.orgcourses I decided to explore other MOOC sites and I came across Edx.org.

Edx.org has a different look than Coursera.org and from my first glance at the site I can tell that Edx.org wants the online learning experience to be user-friendly. Before you take a course on Edx.org there is a free self-paced DemoX course that will help you get familiar with how Edx.org works. Continue reading →

Toward the end of college I considered starting a blog, but I wasn’t sure. Then when I started graduate school I knew for sure I wanted to start blogging. As a graduate student I unofficially started blogging (generating ideas and topics) and discovered my first higher education blog, The Thesis Whisperer.

Before officially starting Mademoiselle Scientist I reached out to The Thesis Whisperer and she emailed me back. She gave me some great feedback and tips to get started with my blog. The advice I remember the most is to just start blogging. There are not many blogs in the academic, science, women in STEM, student and early research career category so there is a huge need. So I started blogging and here I am two years into blogging. I have a lot to learn and many things to share in my journey as a woman in science.

Looking back I’m glad I took The Thesis Whisperer’s advice because I really enjoy reading her blog. I highly recommend it! It’s a great resource for graduate students and professionals. I can’t believe I didn’t know about The Thesis Whisperer earlier in my academic career. It would have been handy. On the bright side, I’m glad I found it!

In my 1st Blogiversary post I shared some of the things you can expect from Mademoiselle Scientist this year. September marks the beginning of Spotlight on Science. If you have been following my blog for some time now you may have checked out my other spotlight series: Mademoiselle Scientist Spotlight. If not check out my most recent blog post about Irène Joliot-Curie.

My goal for Spotlight on Science is to share science resources. For my first Spotlight on Science blog post I will spotlight Dr. Vincent Racaniello. Dr. Racaniello is a Professor of Microbiology & Immunology in the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Columbia University. He has a YouTube Channel, Blog and is the host of a Science Podcast, called This Week in Virology (TWiV). Not to mention he offered two courses in virology on Cousera.org that I took and loved! Earlier this year I wrote a blog post about my experience using Coursera.org and taking his Virology Courses. I really enjoyed the course and now that the courses are over I like to tune into to his Podcasts and Blog. If you are interested in any aspects of virology you have to check out the links if you have not already. Since I’m interested in vaccine research, learning more about virology was right up my alley.

In my welcome blog post for Mademoiselle Scientist I talked about how I am a toxicologist. After earning my Masters degree I began to reevaluate my academic and career goals. I wanted to do something more. After writing out my goals in detail and making connections I decided that a career in global health and vaccine research is the career for me. Specifically, I’m interested in malaria and dengue vaccine research. Now, that I have a better understanding of what I want to do I added a new goal to my list: earn a Ph.D. in Microbiology & Immunology focusing on vaccine development.

In order to prepare myself for this academic and career journey I decided to plan and take action. If I want to pursue a career in vaccine development I must learn what experts in the field are talking about. For the past few months I explored different learning resources called Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) and discovered Coursera.org. Continue reading →

The life of a scientist is pretty busy. Between labs, meetings, conferences and association involvement you can feel like you are not doing enough. I know you are doing enough. Don’t be too hard on yourself and take a break. Your work is important and life is important; you just have to find a good work-life balance.

Many of us understand this struggle. This is where the Power Hour comes in. The ‘Power’ Hour is a chance for you to focus your energy on something exciting and give yourself a break. Continue reading →